‍We received the award for:Â
-  adapting to the Covid restrictions and providing a safe and clean outdoor facility for the public and opening for 8 weeks during that first Summer.    Â
- Â developing and expanding our Inclusive Swim provision to provide a safe and secure environment, even down to having the same staff and Trustees on duty, which was very important for some of our swimmers.
-  introducing new measures to keep the young people safe at our Friday night Youth Evenings. We coordinated with the local organisations and schools, ensured that the same Trustees and Volunteers were on duty to build up relationships with the young people and encouraged parents of the younger ones to stay and enjoy some refreshments.Â
- offering the local Primary Schools the chance to use the pool for a few days once we closed, and two schools took this up. This gave them the opportunity to enjoy the pool totally free of charge, with Lifeguard support but no lessons. Despite the dreadful weather, this was greatly appreciated and we hope to offer it again next season.
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Now other news
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Just after we closed, a group of Volunteers tackled the end of season clean up and the building, the grounds, the toys and swimming aids were thoroughly scrubbed and ready for next year. There were also some of our volunteers helping with the local stream clearance. Thank you to all who helped.
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The book stalls in the Corn Hall and on site have proved to be very popular and an excellent source of income again this year. What is better than choosing a book and reading at the pool after your swim? The Corn Hall stall is still busy on Mondays to Thursdays but will be restricted once the Christmas markets start. We will be ready to accept more books in the New Year.
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This naturally leads onto the Advent Market on Saturday 25th November. We are fortunate to have secured a stall at the market, probably inside the Parish Church, so do come and visit us. We will be having a book stall, a Tombola and a Lucky Dip from 10 am. Hope to see you. Â
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Our AGM took place on a very wet and windy night but was well supported. We are very grateful to Cirencester Bingham library which allowed us to use their facilities.Â
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On 5th December, we are involved with helping Round Table on the Santa Sleigh. We will be in Pheasant and Partridge Way, so do look out for us from 6 pm,if you are that way.
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*Swimmer stories*
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We are looking for people who would like to share their pool stories and memories. We will use these stories for a range of purposes including a community board at the pool, funding and grant applications and advertising. If you can help, please get in touch with us! They can be anonymous or include your name.Â
We would love to hear:Â
- what favourite memory of the pool is
- what COASP means to you
- why you like visiting our pool
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We would also welcome any photos you have taken at the pool to accompany your swimmer story.
If you would like to submit anything please get in contact via the volunteer email which is shown below.Â
Lastly, a very big thank you to all of our Volunteers who give up their time and energy. Without you, we couldn’t run such a welcoming community facility at such an affordable rate. Many of our questionnaire returns mentioned what a friendly and safe place it is and that, is in part, thanks to all your help.
If you would like to join our team of Volunteers, please do get in touch via this email, volunteer.team@cirenopenair.org.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.
Wishing you all the very best & it’s only just over six months until we welcome you back again.Â
